ABSTRACT
It has been stated that you cannot control nature: in the end it controls you. This veiled warning has held true to form until fairly recently in human history. We now understand how fire losses can be mitigated and in many cases prevented from their onset. Today, the services of fire protection engineers are vigorously sought out by those in the business community who desire overall and ongoing fire protection. The principle of all fire prevention can be succinctly summed up by the word “precaution.” A precaution is any measure taken beforehand to ward off unwanted events and their resultant destruction. These precautions, or fire protection practices, are globally accepted as part of the norm with respect to the construction of new buildings. In addition, “retrofit” fire protection installations within existing buildings constructed prior to the existence of modern building codes are projects that take place frequently. Those who vehemently oppose the expenditures and efforts made for fire protection measures are mired in an antiquated public indifference, a fossil stuck in the soil of ignorance and shortsightedness. A fellowship is shared on a professional level by those who know better.
